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Forage Superbowl Entry Deadline Approaches
Organizers of the World’s Forage Analysis Superbowl
are reminding commercial and dairy forage producers the deadline for
submitting entries in this year’s contest is less than a month away.
Click
here to read the rest of this story.
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Time To Replace Thinning Alfalfa Fields
Early August is a good time to check alfalfa fields to
see if they need to be replaced with a new seeding, says Bruce Anderson,
Nebraska extension forage specialist.
Start with a visual inspection of stands. Anderson notes productive
sites in irrigated and sub-irrigated fields will have 40 shoots per
square foot coming from four to six plants. “Older, dryland fields
with less than 25 shoots per square foot coming from two to three
plants should be replaced,” he says.
Check roots as well, advises Anderson. Healthy roots are solid and
white, with a firm texture. Slight browning in the top couple inches of
the crown might not be much of an immediate problem, but it could
develop into a serious disease in another year or two. Roots that are
discolored in one-third to one-half of the tissue might survive the
coming winter, but will not yield well next year. If crowns and taproots
show extensive brownish discoloration or are becoming partly rotted and
mushy, plants will not survive another winter. “Check your alfalfa
stands now so you can replace them on your terms instead of Mother
Nature’s,” says Anderson.
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Consider Summer Forage Seeding Risks
While mid- to late summer can be a good time to seed
forages, especially in small grain stubble fields or fields where a
spring establishment has failed, producers need to be aware of a few
risks associated with summer seedings, says Paul Craig, Penn State
extension educator in Dauphin County, PA.
“The primary concern is moisture stress during germination and
seedling development,” says Craig. He advises not seeding when soil
moisture levels are low in the upper 3-6”. “Watch short-term weather
forecasts and be prepared,” he says. “No-till establishment will
minimize soil moisture losses.”
Post-establishment weed control challenges will also need to be
monitored. Summer annual weeds will not become well-established.
However, winter annual weeds, including chickweed or purple deadnettle
and many others, will germinate in September and October and can present
significant problems if not controlled. In small grain stubble fields,
volunteer small grains can present another weed control issue. “There
are many options for weed control available,” says Craig. “Treat
this year, when weeds are small. Controls next spring will be less
effective.”
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Steer Clear Of Wild Parsnip In Road-Ditch
Hay
Baling or buying road-ditch hay can be a sound strategy
for livestock producers attempting to stretch feed supplies. But
producers who opt to do so should be on the lookout for wild parsnip,
says Chuck Schwartau, University of Minnesota extension livestock
specialist.
The problem with the weed, according to Schwartau, is that it contains a
substance called furanocoumarin, which, like poison ivy, can cause
severe skin burns and extra sensitivity to sunburn in humans and
livestock. “If you are tempted to bale or buy some of this cheap hay,
be sure to investigate for wild parsnip and other potentially toxic
plants that could cause serious health problems in your livestock,” he
says.
You’ll also want to take steps to protect yourself if you need to walk
or work in a patch of wild parsnip, says Schwartau. He recommends
wearing long sleeves, gloves, long pants and making sure there aren’t
holes in the pants that might allow contact with skin. “Even a small
amount of the juice from the plant can result in nasty burns,” says
Schwartau.
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Ag Department Nixes CRP Early Release
USDA has backed away from a plan to release
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage without penalty. In a press
conference last Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said recent
crop reports, weather conditions, price trends in grain markets and the
likelihood of an increase in land for crop production make the proposed
early release unnecessary.
“Despite the damage and disruption caused by the very severe floods
that hit the Midwest last month, the indications so far are that the
impact on this year’s corn and soybean crops will be less than what
was originally feared,” Schafer said. “The markets have been
reacting favorably to the good growing weather we have been experiencing
in recent weeks and encouraging reports on crop conditions. Cash prices
for corn are down 25% and for soybeans 14% from their record highs just
last month.”
The fact that millions of CRP acres will be leaving the program over the
next few years also played a role in the USDA decision. Schafer pointed
out contracts for 1.1 million acres are scheduled to expire on Sept. 30
of this year. That number jumps to 3.8 million acres in 2009 and 4.4
million in 2010. “So large blocks of land will be available for
other uses if landowners choose to pursue them,” Schafer said.
“Owners also have the option of taking their acres out of the program
in exchange for returning all payments they’ve received, plus interest
and a penalty. Some are doing so now.”
Schafer also announced last week that producers in counties approved for
emergency haying and grazing on CRP land because of drought will have
their rental payments cut by 10% instead of the standard 25%. To date,
those counties are in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma
and Texas.
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Fertilizer Price Surge Explained
“Supply And Demand, Energy Drive Global Fertilizer
Prices,” a brochure from The Fertilizer Institute, offers a
detailed analysis of factors behind skyrocketing fertilizer costs in the
U.S. Five keys, according to the brochure:- Global demand for
fertilizer has increased dramatically. U.S. prices have moved upward
accordingly.
- The U.S. ethanol boom is driving fertilizer demand, and therefore
prices, higher.
- Increased transportation costs to move fertilizer products are
factoring into increased delivered fertilizer prices.
- The value of the U.S. dollar has fallen significantly in the past
few years, increasing the cost of imported goods – including
fertilizer – in the U.S.
- High natural gas prices in the U.S. continue to lead to higher
fertilizer production costs.
For a pdf version of the full
brochure, go to www.tfi.org/publications/pricespaper.pdf.
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Virginia
“It’s going to be a tough year in the hay
business,” says Charles Roff, Old Dominion Hay Company, Smithfield,
VA. On the supply side, Roff says, good hay is hard to come by. He notes
wet weather early in the growing season crimped the amount of quality
hay being made in the eastern U.S. “In places like Ohio and New York,
a lot of the hay that got put up was overripe,” says Roff. Primary
customers for the hay and straw he sells are horse owners living within
a 100-mile radius of Smithfield.
Supplies appear to be more plentiful heading farther west. But with fuel
prices soaring, hay coming in from Idaho, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming
carries a hefty price tag. “It’s selling for around $250/ton at the
barn,” says Roff. “By the time it gets here, we’re looking at
$350-400/ton. That’s for orchardgrass, orchardgrass-alfalfa and mixed
hay. Two years ago, the barn door price in those areas was closer to
$100-150/ton.”
There’s trouble brewing on the demand side, too. “A lot of horse
owners are commuting 40-50 miles to work,” says Roff. “With gas
prices going up like they are, a lot of these people are finding they
can’t afford to fill up their tanks and buy feed for their animals,
too. It’s tough going for a lot of them.”
Contact Roff at 757-357-4878.
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Alabama
Hay production in Alabama has been a mixed bag thus far
in 2008, says Auburn University extension forage specialist Don Ball.
The good news is many areas of the state have received adequate moisture
in recent weeks. “Overall, we’re in fairly good shape statewide,”
says Ball. “It certainly is not as dry as it was last year.”
Not all parts of the state have recovered equally, though. “The rains
have been hit and miss,” Ball says. “There are pockets, mostly in
the southeastern and northeastern parts of the state, where they’re
still short on moisture. But even there, some communities have benefited
from rain in the last couple of weeks.”
According to the USDA Market News report for Alabama, movement and
demand for hay and mulch have been light to moderate. Widespread rains
throughout the area continued to improve pastures and hayfields, but
also slowed harvest in some areas. Bahia grass packaged in 4 x 5’
round bales was bringing $40-50/roll. Small square bales of premium
bermuda grass were selling for $5.25-6.50/bale, while good-quality small
squares were bringing $4-5.50/bale.
Contact Ball at 334-844-5491.
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Switchgrass For Bioenergy Is Field Day
Focus
Growing switchgrass as a bioenergy crop is the topic
for the Tuesday, Aug. 12, Cornell Bioenergy Feedstock Project Field Day
at Tom Lee’s farm in Madrid, NY. Agenda topics include production
practices to establish grass crops and discourage weeds, reading seed
labels and developing switchgrass markets. To preregister for the event,
scheduled for 12 noon-2 p.m., call the St. Lawrence County extension
office at 315-379-9192. To learn more about switchgrass research in New
York, go to www.nnyagdev.org.
(Click on Biofuels, then Resources and Cornell Bioenergy Feedstock
Project).
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Calendar
Aug. 12-13 -- Nebraska Grazing Conference,
Kearney Holiday Inn, Kearney. Go to www.grassland.unl.edu or phone
402-472-4101.
Aug. 19 -- Central Minnesota Forage Council Field Day, John Traut
Farm, Sartell. Contact Dan Martens at 800-964-4929.
Aug. 19-20 -- Wisconsin Grazing School, Richland Center. Call
715-425-3345.
Aug. 19-21 -- Pennsylvania Ag Progress Days, Russell E. Larson
Agricultural Research Center, Rock Springs. Visit apd.psu.edu/.
Aug. 20 -- Beef And Forage Day, Grand Rapids, MN. Contact Ryan
Walker at 888-241-0719.
Aug. 20-21 -- University of Georgia Extension Grazing School,
Bulloch County Center for Agriculture, Statesboro. Visit www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/forages/GAGrazingSchool.html.
Aug. 28 -- Hay & Farm Field Day, WW Ranch, Jacksonville, FL.
Phone 386-362-6447.
Aug. 29 -- Corn Silage Plot Tour, Dan Dryer Farm, Ottertail
City, MN. Phone Doug Holen at 888-241-0843.
Sept. 3 -- Southeast Pennsylvania Crops Conferences’ Hay
Baling/Handling Meeting, Heidel Hollow Farm, Germansville. For a
brochure, visit www.montgomery.extension.psu.edu/Agriculture/HayBalingHandlingmeeting.pdf.
Sept. 4 -- Kentucky Forage & Grassland Council Field Day,
Christian County. Learn more at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/.
Sept. 10 -- Institute For Ag Professionals Forage Day, UMore
Park, Rosemount, MN. Contact Dave Nicolai at 612-625-2778.
Sept. 17-20 -- National Hay Association Convention, Oak Brook
Hills Marriott, Oak Brook, IL. Contact Don Kieffer at 800-707-0014, or
visit www.nationalhay.org.
Sept. 30-Oct. 4 -- World Dairy Expo, Alliant Energy Center,
Madison, WI. Visit www.worlddairyexpo.com.
Oct. 14-16 -- Southeastern Hay Contest, Sunbelt Agriculture
Exposition, Moultrie, GA. Guidelines and entry forms are available at
www.aces.edu/animalforage/documents/08SoutheasternHayContest.pdf.
Oct. 23 -- Kentucky Grazing Conference, Fayette County extension
office, Lexington. Learn more at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/.
Oct. 31-Nov. 2 -- Virginia Equine Extravaganza, Richmond Raceway,
Richmond. Learn more at www.equineextravaganza.com.
Nov. 6-7 -- 2008 BEEF Quality Summit, sponsored by
BEEF magazine, Antlers Hilton Hotel, Colorado Springs, CO. Visit
beefconference.com/.
Nov. 13-16 -- Massachusetts Equine Affaire, Eastern States
Exposition Center, West Springfield. Visit www.equineaffaire.com.
Dec. 2-4 -- California Alfalfa & Forage Symposium, Town & Country
Resort and Hotel, San Diego. Learn more at alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/2008AlfalfaConference/.
Dec. 5-6 -- 2008 Missouri Livestock Symposium, Kirksville.
Programs for horse, beef cattle, sheep, meat goat and forage producers,
and trade show. Details at missourilivestock.com, or call Bruce Lane at
660-665-9866 or Garry Mathes at 660-341-6625.
Jan. 15-16, 2009 -- Southwest Hay And Forage Conference, Ruidoso,
NM. Contact Gina Sterrett at 575-626-5677 or Justin Boswell at
575-840-9908.
Jan. 21-22, 2009 -- Heart Of America Grazing Conference,
Columbus, IN. Contact Jason Tower at 812-678-4427 or towerj@purdue.edu.
June 21-23, 2009 -- American Forage & Grassland Council Annual
Conference, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, MI. Call
800-944-2342 or email info@afgc.org.Calendar.
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Send Questions & Comments
To...
Rick Mooney, Editor,
eHay Weekly,
hfg@hayandforage.com
For information on Hay & Forage Grower, contact:
Neil Tietz, Editor, ntietz@hayandforage.com
or
Fae Holin, Managing Editor, fholin@hayandforage.com
For specific information from past issues of eHay Weekly and
Hay & Forage Grower, click on hayandforage.com, and use the search
function in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.
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